On Darwin's influence of Psychoanalysis

I n traditional evolutionary theory, species survival is dependent not on the organization of the group, but on the differential success of particular organisms in surviving and reproducing their genetic code.

Relational psychoanalytic models, sometimes referred to as intersubjective, do not view individuals as discrete centers of experience and action; instead, they assert that all self-experience is ontologically social. They challenge the “myth of the isolated mind” (Stolorow and Atwood, 1992, p. 7) and suggest that psychological experience is derived... See more

In this paper, Walls tells how the popular ideas of psychoanalysis and even the self have been selectively informed by Darwin's ideas of competition and individualism. The societal exclusion of Darwin and other scientist's work on the superiority of group cooperation has made for a model of psychology that looks for causes of distress within the in... See more

Psychological-mindedness (the propensity to take responsibility for one’s problems and to look within oneself for the solutions) is considered by many to be an important criterion for analyzability. Historically, these criteria have operated to exclude many who might otherwise have seemed to be potential beneficiaries of psychoanalytic treatment. I... See more

We can no longer operate on the assumption that the Western capitalist culture of self-contained individualism is superior to all other cultural forms and continue to encode those values in the practice of psychoanalysis.

Culture and Psychoanalysis  Human suffering often may stem from the way that the culture promotes the pursuit of impossible ideals and unlimited narcissistic gratification that serves an unacknowledged economic purpose benefiting some members of society at the cost of others... Advertising fans the flames of widespread and insatiable narcissis... See more

Arguably, liberal individualism, social Darwinism, and free-market theory are transforms of one another, deriving their basic assumptions from the same atomistic and hierarchical worldview, all containing elitist principles (meritocracy, survival of the fittest, and plutocracy) and all with the consequent stratifications of race, gender, ethnicity,... See more

A traditional ego-psychology analysis typically focuses on analyzing the patient’s inner life as the main source of problems. In contrast, a relational analyst emphasizes not only the patient’s inner life, but also the mutual relational dynamics of the therapeutic interaction in the session.